We expect a very, very difficult 2026 from an economic point of view, a very difficult year, because with this growth in loans - over 20 billion leva, we will exceed the deficit by a lot, predicted in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio Radostin Vassilev, leader of the parliamentary MECH.
"I expect a difficult year, there will be at least two elections in 2026 for president and parliament. These are the last attempts to preserve the model, to regroup and the presidential elections will untie the knot", he said and believes that if a president is elected from the Borisov group – Peevski, the state will go astray.
According to him, with the existing opposition in the National Assembly, it is difficult to shake the government, because it is kleptocratic:
"You see that with 11 MPs and such a composition of the opposition, it is difficult to shake the government, which is kleptocratic. We foresee socio-economic upheavals in the state after the new year. We will also invite other parties. At the beginning of this National Assembly, we proposed "everyone against Borisov and Peevski", we had a majority, but ITN and BSP preferred capitalized doom."
Radostin Vassilev defined the 2026 budget as "a mafia budget, necessary to make it through to the new year, without any upheavals and they will throw in the towel after the holidays".
The leader of MECH stated that between the first and second reading of the 2026 Budget, the party will make a proposal:
"We will certainly propose that there be a Christmas allowance for pensioners. Now we will estimate the amount, 200 - 250 million leva should be allocated for people in social risk groups."
For Vassilev, the changes that give greater powers to the special manager of "Lukoil" have made him an owner:
"This is a criminal raider nationalization on a Stalinist model. So far, Bulgaria has witnessed the theft of private businesses by Peevski, now the state has stolen the refinery. They have run over the Constitution and all the laws of Bulgaria. This lady from ITN Pavela Mitova knows nothing about energy. The derogation is expected, it is not a merit - diplomatic or expert, this is the principled position of the US, a refinery with stolen status should have a deferral and it is temporary."
Vassilev recalled that the useful move was 10 months ago, when MECH made the proposal for investment expenditure by the state, to enter into a conversation with the owners and buy "Lukoil".
"And when the case came, we could have had a refinery, bought, not stolen. But that's how they decided, this is a different model of state governance, which is not typical for European countries. It costs 2 – 3 billion", said Radostin Vassilev.
And he predicted:
"If the state is governed by organized crime, there will soon be murders on the political scene."